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Hans Klok
Johannes Franciscus Catharinus "Hans" Klok (born 22 February 1969) is a Dutch illusionist and actor. Biography Hans Klok was born in Purmerend, the Netherlands. He started his career in magic as a teenager, winning several international competitions by the time he was 16. By age 23, he was part of a touring show with Dutch comedian André van Duin. In 1994, he performed for the first time on the Las Vegas Strip, as part of NBC’s The World's Greatest Magic, broadcast live from Caesars Palace to an audience of 60 million people. The following ten years he toured Europe and China and appeared in Las Vegas once more. In 2005, at the end of a Dutch TV talk show appearance by singer and magic fan Jessica Simpson, who was in the country promoting the movie The Dukes of Hazzard, he sawed her in half in his Clearly Impossible sawing illusion, using a large circular saw to divide her. During the opening of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, about 500 million football fans in 152 countries saw Klok make the 18-carat gold World Trophy appear out of thin air in a glass cage. 2007 - The Beauty of Magic In 2007, Klok had a show on the Las Vegas Strip. The Beauty of Magic was a 90-minute production presented in a large theater at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. It debuted on June 1 and closed in mid December. The show included Pamela Anderson as one of Klok's assistants. During the show, she took part in a number of illusions including being sawed in half in his Modern Art illusion. Klok had previously featured Carmen Electra in his illusions. A week after the opening of The Beauty of Magic, Klok and Anderson visited The Howard Stern Show and started a rumor about a possible romance. A month later they told The Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson that they sometimes "got physical" behind the scenes before their nightly show. The rumors of his supposed romance with Anderson made headlines in his native country, where it is common knowledge that he is gay. Klok later admitted in a QVegas Magazine interview that the rumors were a publicity ploy and that he had been in a relationship with partner Frank for 16 years. 2008-2010 - Appearances Klok is currently working on Klassetv, an English program for Dutch kids. He is taking help from English Children in the British School of Amsterdam and possibly the International School of Amsterdam. Klok's latest show "Hurricane" is scheduled to tour Europe in 2010 and 2011. In June 2008 Hans Klok announced that he had ended his relationship with Frank and was now dating James Jackson Harwood, a 23-year-old dancer in his show. Harwood is listed as assistant choreographer and dance captain for "Hurricane." 2011 - Chippendales In April 2011, for Dutch daredevil TV-Show "Try before you die 2" Hans, for his dare, was asked to take part in a Chippendales-show preformed at The Chippendales Theatre (Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino). 2012 - The Houdini Experience In February 2012, Hans visited the UK with his stage show The Houdini Experience, playing a five-week run. During the press night at the Peacock Theatre in London, he amazed the audience of celebrity guests when he invited actress Louisa Lytton up onto the stage and, without any prior rehearsal, sawed her in half in his Clearly Impossible illusion. On the following opening night, he chose model Linda Lusardi from the audience. Hypnotised, she underwent a costume change, was levitated into the air, lowered onto a long table, and then restrained with metal cuffs on her wrists and ankles. Klok then cut her in half with a buzzsaw. Hans also made a guest appearance on the BBC TV show The Magicians, during which he broke his own world record for the number of illusions performed in a five minute period. He also performed at Stella McCartney's London Fashion Week 2012 party-themed fashion show. There, he entertained the invited VIP guests with a number of tricks and illusions, including the levitation and sawing in half of TV presenter and model Alexa Chung. His appearance at the Stella McCartney show came about after model Kate Moss saw his appearance on BBC TV's The One Show publicising his UK visit and suggested to McCartney that she should feature him in her show. The original plan for his appearance at McCartney's show was that Moss was to act as his assistant, and she spent several days working with him to rehearse the levitation and sawing illusions, plus a third illusion in which she was beheaded by a guillotine. However, she was unable to perform in the show after suffering a temporary paralysis of her right arm a few days beforehand, and so Alexa Chung stepped in at short notice to replace her.LIVE with Gabby, Channel 5, March 22, 2012. Filmography List of films in which Hans Klok performed as an actor: *''De D van dag'' (2003) *''Sinterklaas en het geheim van de Robijn'' References External links * Hans Klok – The fastest magician ever (official website) *